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Lina Khalifeh, 2014 WBA WinnerSheFighter – JORDANBringing SheFighter to the World

self-defence and to combat domestic abuse in the country. I was inspired to do so after one of my friends was badly

attacked by her father and brother. Seeing her beaten up, I wanted to teach her and other women how to be strong and

how to defend themselves from such acts.

Since being founded, SheFighter has trained over 14,000 girls and women between the ages of 4 and 75, including foreign

domestic helpers and Syrian refugee women living in Jordan. The impact such training has had on the lives of many girls

and women is immense. SheFighter is not just a business, it is a cause that I have embraced.

Sexual harassment, which happens worldwide, is also a problem in Jordan – especially on public transport and in some

neighbourhoods of Amman. Violence against women is a widespread problem in Jordan, where, until April 2016, the

country’s penal code allowed a rapist to avoid prosecution by marrying his victim. People who commit “honour killings”

of female relatives regularly have their murder sentences commuted or reduced. My aim is to empower women, to make

and motivated me to continue the road to expanding the “ SheFighter” brand internationally. In 2015, I registered the

brand at the World Intellectual Property Right Organization in Geneva and I elaborated a plan to franchise the self-

defence studio. Furthermore, I was able to become a recognized spokesperson for a cause close to my heart – the

empowerment of women and zero tolerance for violence against women. I have been promoted as a leader of social

change in important international events:

I travelled with Empretec to Berlin, Germany, where I attended the launch of the Inclusive Business

Action Network. This network connects businesses with multilateral institutions, existing initiatives,

networks, investors and other stakeholders; it promotes dialogue and mutual learning and facilitates

access to knowledge, partners and support structures on the ground. It is implemented by the

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH on behalf of the German

Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.

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I attended the “International Women in Business Forum” in Qatar in 2014, where I spoke

about my journey with SheFighter and the role of Empretec in growing my business. In Qatar,

I also had the chance to build connections to open a SheFighter studio.

I was invited as a speaker to the Expert Meeting on Social Entrepreneurship in

Geneva in 2015, with the cooperation of Empretec. I had the opportunity to meet great leaders

and other start-up founders from Empretec around the world, with whom I have become close friends.

Last May 2015, after participating in an entrepreneurship competition in Jordan, I was invited to the United States, to the

White House, as one of three young entrepreneurs furthering business and development in the Middle East. President

Obama highlighted my work and the SheFighter project in his closing speech. I felt really happy, I could not even sleep at

working in women’s self-defence and engaging in social change in the Middle East. “We want to empower leaders of social

change like Lina Khalifeh of Jordan”, United States President Barack Obama said in his speech, giving SheFighter great

exposure and me a huge personal reward.

Bangkok to 1200 great Leaders and Entrepreneurs from around the world. I am glad I inspired all of them and represented

Jordanian women and Palestinians in a very powerful way. We also had fun on stage before the Speech. I was blessed to

To sum up, in the past two years, we have been growing rapidly in Jordan, where we have trained about 50 trainers and

we are expanding to train teenagers and youth in schools. We started our expansion abroad, and I have joined many

international networks with which I can work. I am still working hard to expand SheFighter into a system or programme that

can be replicated to reach many more girls and women around the world.

But my greatest achievement and testimonials always come from my students, who yell “She angry, SheFighter!”

at the end of each training session.

We at SheFighter appreciate all the support that Empretec has given us

since 2014 and recommend their training to all entrepreneurs, because it is

one of the best trainings I have ever done in my business and career life.

Thank you Empretec and good luck to the next Winner!!

Inspirational speech by Lupita Nyong’o

“For Women Entrepreneurs”

Lupita Nyong’oOscar Award-winning actress, Kenya

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